Prepping can be expensive. People have gone into significant debt in their quest to out run the Zombies. They let fear over take them, and before they know it, they have spent thousands and still aren’t sure if they have what they need to make it through the emergencies they are most likely to experience. By creating a plan, we can save money buying emergency gear while adding only what we need to our emergency kits.

What Are YOU Prepping For?

The first question to ask yourself, is what are you prepping for? It’s called conducting your threat assessment. In reality it’s nothing more than simply sitting down and making a list of all the things that could cause life to get dicey.

Do you live in an area where tornadoes, earthquakes, or hurricanes are possible?

Is there a potential for your income to fluctuate, or for you or your spouse to lose a job?

Do you care for someone with special medical needs?

What would you do if your home caught on fire?

If your water source became contaminated, what would you do?

Can you make it through a prolonged blackout?

What you prep for may look very different from what I’m prepping for. But we both can save money buying emergency gear.

Prioritizing Will Save Money Buying Emergency Gear

Out of all the possibilities you’ve listed in your threat assessment, what is the most important situation for you to be prepared for? That will be your first priority.

As you prioritize your possible emergencies, you’ll notice that a lot of things overlap in regards to what gear you’ll need. When you mark that piece of gear off of one concern, you’ll be able to cross it off of another too.

Sell What You Aren’t Using To Buy What You Need

Take a look around your home. What do you have that you could live without? What do you have that is less important than the gear you need to get through an emergency?

Use Cash Back Sites

Cash back sites have become popular lately. From groceries (Ibotta!) to items for your 72 hour kit, there’s a way to get a few bucks back. My personal favorite is

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned

Earn the cash you need by making some lifestyle changes.

*Shop Around for Better Life and Home Insurance

*Get rid of cable. Embrace Netflix or Hulu.

*Menu Plan. Make a list of what you need for that menu and stick to it.

*Give up a movie night. Do without the expensive coffee. Eat at home instead of going out.

*Set up a car pool.

*Brown Bag Lunches

Even if you are only able to cut back $20.00 bucks a month, that’s $20.00 more than you had before.

Who Says It Has To Be New?

Another way to save money buying emergency gear is to buy used. Look on the same places that you sold your stuff to find the new stuff you need. Don’t forget thrift stores and yard sales!

Simply Preparing Deals Group on Facebook

Your friendly hosts here at Simply Preparing have started a Facebook Group where we share GREAT deals and ways to help you save money prepping. We’ll also find support regardless of where you are in your prepping journey. Come ask your questions, share your stories and bring a friend!

It AIN’T All About The Money, Honey

Emergency preparedness is about making small, consistent steps in your ability to see your family through an emergency. Don’t get caught up in the hype. He who dies with the biggest bug out bag, really doesn’t win.

Emergency Planning Basics

Food Storage

We are grab and go breakfast people at our house. Since my kids were little, the best way to make sure everyone at my house got a good breakfast was to have ready made items like muffins, stashed away in the freezer. Luckily, this Ham and Cheese Egg Muffin Recipe is super easy to make […]

Alternate Uses

Why Worry About Preparing?

Preparedness for a disaster makes a lot of sense. With recent and predicted events like Hurricane Sandy, The Colorado Wildfires, Fiscal Cliffs, and rising food and gas costs just in 2012 there is no denying that things are changing in our world. Whether or not you believe "The End of the World As We Know It" is near there are plenty of everyday things to worry about: loss of a job, health emergency, local weather events to name a few.

I find that I worry less about the big "what if's" out there the more emergency planning my family does to deal with the unexpected. I will share the survival tips and tricks I have learned while on this preparedness journey and hope that you join in with lots of comments. We all have a lot to learn from one another.

Now, lets get started prepping! Pick a post and start reading. At the end of every post the blog randomly selects three more survival posts for you to check out. Set aside 10 minutes a day to build your preppers knowledge base. We can never be done learning or prepping, right?